Preserving history: Local group works to elevate stories of freedom seekers

A group of historians and educators is working to identify, preserve, and share the stories of freedom seekers who traveled through the Underground Railroad in Illinois. 

The project comes amid efforts to erase or water down Black history, including recent actions by the National Park Service under the Trump administration. Last month, the National Park Service removed an exhibit in Philadelphia about nine people enslaved by George Washington.  A federal judge ordered the exhibit to be restored.  The Trump administration has appealed that ruling.  In September, a photo showing an enslaved man's scarred back from whippings was removed from a national monument in Georgia. 

Members of the "Illinois Network to Freedom Collective" are focused on bringing attention to the stories of freedom seekers and sites connected to the Underground Railroad in Illinois.  

According to the National Park Service, there are 28 recognized "Network to Freedom" sites in the state, including Graceland Cemetery and the Ton Farm site in Chicago. 

Abdul Alkalimat, a member of the collective, said, "We found at least 429 places in Illinois that were directly connected to the Underground Railroad." 

The group is working to uncover and document these locations by analyzing written records, church documents, census data, and oral histories. 

"We think the real story is the freedom seekers, the people who were daring enough to escape from slavery," said Alkalimat. 

Eric Krupa, curator and archivist at the St. Charles History Museum, recently helped add the Joseph Bartlett Farm in Kane County to the National Park Service's list of recognized safehouses. 

"This site is actually where Celia and Eliza were taken to," said Krupa, referring to two freedom seekers whose journey passed through the area. 

Krupa said there is evidence connecting another home in St. Charles to the same story, and he is working to get that home nationally recognized as well. 

Larry McClellan, a historian with the collective, explained the challenges of researching this history. 

"So, to begin with, this (the underground railroad) is all illegal, so what we have to do is find all kinds of ways to get into the information, and so we end up with family records, with church records, with census records," said McClellan. 

Alkalimat added, "There's a lot of oral history. There's a lot of family documentation." 

The collective's work is not only about research, but also about public education. 

"It's getting the resources, the imagery, the narratives, the stories, those things that help students and teachers come alive in classrooms that bring those feelings up in classrooms," said Asif Wilson, an educator and member of the group. 

McClellan said, "There are efforts going on around the state, and having the commission will help us pull those efforts together in terms of developing curriculum, developing standards and guidelines." 

The group hopes that by teaching this history, they can inspire progress in the ongoing fight for civil rights. 

"The Underground Railroad is an important aspect of the past, but we have to embrace the legacy of the freedom seekers all the way through the current time we live in today," said Alkalimat, "Since we've arrived here, we've always found ways to build new homes, build new lives, to resist that oppression, and I hope to bring those legacies and those memories to folks who might not have them because we exist in a time and place right now where it seems like the world is literally on fire," said Wilson, "We really need these moments to reconcile the past and what the past might mean for the future." 

The collective came together about a year ago, but Historians Glennette Turner and Larry McClellan have been doing this work for decades. They say the new collaborative project gives them hope. 

"Part of why we're so excited about the new collaborative is really completing the work that we started so long ago," said McClellan. 

Turner said, "I'm 92 years old, and I knew I wouldn't live forever and just, you know, be able to continue this. It's just so encouraging. It just means everything is going to be in good hands going forward." 

Last summer, Illinois passed the "Illinois Freedom Trails Commission Act," which aims to explore, research, and commemorate the journeys of freedom seekers. Several members of the collective helped draft the legislation and are now working with the state. The official commission has yet to be announced and will be appointed by the governor.